Cars, Crime, Drinking, DUI / DWI, Guns / Firearms

Drinking, Driving, and Packing

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Maybe we should look at this as a grand test of the “theory” of evolution via natural selection. Eventually, over the course of hundreds of thousands or millions of years, the gun nuts should really die out, while those who favor sensible gun regulation will live and procreate and prosper.

But then again, maybe this is a case of sexual selection. Maybe the gun-nut trait will be favored because — despite its negative correlation with survival (most gun nuts don’t even understand that gun owners are more likely to shoot themselves or a loved one than any kind of criminal) — toting a gun just drives the ladies wild. Maybe holding a gun really is like holding a (pea)cock.

Either way, I feel the need to explain Tennessee state representative Curry Todd’s alleged behavior with the understanding of the natural forces in play. Because on the surface, the fact that the politician in favor of guns in bars got pulled over for allegedly driving while drunk, with his gun in his car, just seems to speak to the natural evolution of our species….

Curry Todd was the sponsor of a Tennessee bill to allow people to carry handguns into bars, so long as they don’t drink. Todd’s bill was ruled unconstitutional (on vagueness grounds), but Tennessee now has a version of this bill as law.

Now, call me liberal, but this seems like an extremely dumb law. I don’t think I should even have to explain why bringing firearms into bars is a bad idea. Even the Wild West had rules about bringing firearms into drinking establishments.

At the time, Todd argued that people with gun permits could be trusted to not drink while carrying around loaded weapons. Fast forward to this past Tuesday. From the AP (gavel bang: ABA Journal):

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Rep. Curry Todd, a Collierville Republican, was pulled over in Nashville late Tuesday, according to court documents. Police said he failed a roadside sobriety test and refused to take a Breathalyzer test. A loaded .38-caliber gun was found in a holster stuffed between the driver’s seat and center console.

A police affidavit said Todd was unsteady on his feet, “almost falling down at times.” It concluded that Todd was “obviously very impaired and not in any condition to be carrying a loaded handgun.”

You’re gonna want to look at the booking photo on this guy:

Yeah, that’s the good stuff. That’s the picture of a man I trust with a loaded weapon.

But hey, this is what the Founders wanted, right? In their infinite wisdom, they wanted this guy to be able to bring his gun into a bar. ‘Cause they trusted him.

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Natural selection, baby. In a few epochs, we’ll have a better sense of who was right.

Tenn. gun bill sponsor faces DUI, firearm charges [Associated Press]
Sponsor of Tennessee Gun Law Faces DUI, Firearms Charges [ABA Journal]

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